August 12

I doubt that there is anyone who considers telephone service to anywhere on the planet anything other than a commonplace. It is taken for granted that with a cell phone no one is ever unreachable. A great deal of this is due to the presence of communication satellites orbiting high over our heads. Carried into orbit by a Delta Rocket, Echo I the first communications satellite, entered into service on the 12th in 1960. Echo 1 was a Mylar balloon with a thickness of 0.127 mm and a diameter of 100 feet which was given the nickname of ‘sateloon.’